Farfalle e fiori: Le segnali di primavera

Oggi (both) Mamma e (and) nonna and I are ready to spend some time outdoors. E` primavera ed il sole brilla e l’aria ha un perfumo dolce. (It’s spring and the sun is shining and the air smells sweet.) Ci sono parchi a Frosinone (there are parks in Frosinone) but today Mamma drove us out to Lago di Canterno which is surrounded by the towns of Ferentino, Fiuggi, Fumone, Trivigliano e Torre Cajetani. As we drive into le montagne (the mountains) towards our destination, nonna puts down the window a bit and I stick my nose fuori (outside) to smell all the wonderful smells.

The lake is cradled among the mountains and beneath the mountains are many grottos or caves, formed from underground rivers which carved out and dissolved rocks made of limestone, dolomite and gypsum.

After parking the car and putting on my leash we head off down un sentiero (a path) that will take us around the lake. Posso sentire gli uccelli cantando (I can hear the birds singing) while mamma and nonna stop to take pictures of some uccelli l’airone (herons). The lake is also home to i gufi (owls), le gazette (gazettes) e ci sono anche i molluschi (snails), gli anfibi, (amphibians such as frogs, i pesci (fish) and mammiferi (mammals). Near the edge of the lake I find a few small frogs that I chase around until mamma tells me to stop.

Sara wonders if Filli looks like the butterfly she saw on her trip.

I fiori (flowers) are in full bloom and I stop often to sniff their wonderful perfume. Nonna had looked up some informazione (information) about the lake so she is telling us some of the flowers we may see are orchidee (orchids) and piante aromatiche come il timo, la mentuccia e il rosmarino (aromatic plants like thyme, mint and rosemary).

I stop suddenly when I spot what looks to be a beautiful colored flying insect. Then I see more! I am tugging at my leash and mamma stops me. “Non puoi giocare,” she exclaims. (You can’t play). When she sees I just want to look at them closer she sighs and sits down with me on the ground. “Sono farfalle Sara,” she tells me. (They are butterflies) “Do you know where they come from?” What did she tell me? Find out by reading the story with pictures. Then, have some fun colorando!

After watching the butterflies for a few more minutes we head back to the ristorante near the parking lot for some gelato. Che giorno bello! Evviva primavera! Alla prossima, Sara.